LGB Parenting Styles and Values

In spite of concerns that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) parents’ sexual orientation will negatively affect their children, studies have shown that sexuality is irrelevant with respect to one’s ability to parent. This entry describes parenting styles and values among lesbian and gay parents. It explains how they divide household labor and child care, and identifies values that lesbian and gay (LG) parents instill in their children, as well as gender and discipline practices. Much of the research in this area has compared LG-parent households to heterosexual-parent households, focusing most intensely on lesbian-parent households and almost entirely neglecting bisexual-parent families.